As promised…here is the 3rd and final type of glaze problem I have found…I just picked this baby up from the PO today and I was happy (well not really happy because they are a pain to clean…lol) but happy in that the eyes are the 3rd type problem I have seen over the years with glazes…Again. I don’t know what type was used…
So this one is quite yucky…it goes hard and starts to go off gooey and sticky like a hard lolly/candy that has been left in the sun for days on end…not very nice…I have started cleaning on of the sockets (got a ways to go yet as you can see) but removed the rooted lashes on one side and started the other when I realized “Hey, this is the last type problem I have been telling the ladies about…pop a few photos Starr!”
So here they are - if you will look closely at the close up of the one eye…you will see that the thin part of the glaze is in the very beginning stages of starting to cloud…the thick part that was used to hold the lashes in has already gone off and is gooey on the top and still hard against the eye so it is going off from the outside in…not from the inside out - meaning that it is not because the glaze was never fully dry underneath and clear when done…
So this will be my last post on this issue… Just wanted you to see the 3 types of problems I have seen over the years while rebroning…Don’t know the conditions as far as weather, tempts,humidity, type glaze used or any other possible contributing factor…just know that the ladies who have sent the dolls to me are collectors - so their dolls are not ‘play dolls’ and other than the eyes and re weighting and stuffing them, they are mostly in near new condition…
I’m just done. I’m not sealing eyes anymore. I have only sealed a couple anyway, but they look so cute when they are first finished. The “cute” factor isn’t enough to live with problems like this! Thanks Starr. As usual, you are a wonderful teacher.
I wish I knew too Amy…It would be so much easier to be able to say don’t use this one or don’t use that one because it does this or that…I do know who the artist are for most all the ones I repair as I ask my customers but as a courtesy to my customers and respect for other artist I would never disclose the nursery name…This is such an unexpected problem and I don’t think it reflects on the artist work at all…Many of these babies I have gotten to fix are lovely paint work and very nice quality as far as reborning goes in general…the repairs are usually 'age related like fixing cloudy eyes, replacing lashes, restuffing or reweighting or taking shine off because the doll was never varnished or the varnishes that were a sheen to start became shiny with age and handling…With the eyes clouding it is something that is showing up more regularly (as you can see I have had 3 dolls in the last month with eye issues…) as the early dolls get a bit of age and no one could have known what would happen with some of the glazes over time till some time had passed because we all learn from those before us and we grow…
I do know that some of the earlier glazes used by most artist were Aleena’s Paper Glaze, Plaid Dimension Magic, Folk Art Air Dry and Delta Cremacoat but I don’t know what ones were used on the three babies I have used for examples or which ones did what or why?
Have you ever contacted any of the artists to give them a “heads up” on the status of the doll? In asking that, I’m thinking the artist may take offense and not hear that it isn’t their work but the product’s aging issues.
Kim @customdollbanies.com is recommending the epoxy type to seal eyes. It’s the “one part this and one part that” type that I’ve used in jewelry making. You have to work quickly but she has a tutorial about working with it.
You are so right…I have never done it…The reason for it is number one, some of my customers have asked that I not contact the artist for reason like ‘the artist is very sensitive and it may hurt her feelings’ or I did contact them and they were very defensive and offhanded’…One lady said she sent one back and the artist said she would repair it for a fee and was very defensive with her…She sent the doll back and it still came back to her not satisfactory…so I ended up with that one to fix for her…I felt so bad for her I did not charge to fix it, only the postage back to her and the cost of lashes…) As you know…trying to give helpful’ advice to many reborn artist is about the same as telling some one that they have an ugly kid…hahahahaha…I do not go on forums or participate in any of the ‘chatter’ and personal attacks that I hear go on on other forums…I pretty much have minded my own business all these years and done my own thing other than tutoring new artist that come to me for help…I am not afraid to talk to other ladies and I don’t mind sharing things that I have learned (as well as learning new things myself) but there are reborners out there that are so insecure or tend to be in some private competition with every other reborner on the planet that it’s not worth the conflict if you know what I mean…
I would hope that if someone gets one of my babies and has a problem they would feel comfortable enough to tell me…I’d rather they come back to me to fix than to go to someone else…That is how we learn, right?..
That may be a new option…I will love to hear how it goes…I do have one possible word of warning about epoxies like these…They yellow really bad as they age…(not saying it about what she uses as I have no idea about what it is but I use to use several different 2 part epoxy glues when I painted miniatures and some of them I have seen after about 3- 4 years - ones I did for my father - and the epoxy has yellowed something horrible…if you have ever seen any of the old art deco or retro vases from the 1950 -1970’s repaired in the past that have the really dark yellow glue showing…many of those would have been glued with 2 part epoxy glues…(use to deal antiques for a short 2 years so saw that quite a bit as well…lol)
BOY do I sound negative or what??? So sorry ladies …not my intention…will love to see how the epoxy turns out…
No, not negative AT ALL! Just real!!! You’re right about the yellowing of epoxy. I’d rather consider all the options and know pluses and minuses. Sooooo…how important IS it to seal eyes?
It would really be helpful to know what products were used and how. That is the only way to know for sure if all glazes can do this or not. All I know is that i have babies here I have glazed with Delta Ceramcoat that have never done any of this in my home. If any of my customers had this happen I would SO want to know it so I could fix it and reconsider my products I am using. To me it does not help anyone to just send the doll to someone else to fix. So if you ever got one of my dolls I would want to know it.
Another product I have had recommended to me for eyes but never tried is the Future floor finish. I have been told that this product is used to seal clay beads and does not yellow or go tacky. The lady who told me about it says she just uses a drop or so of it in each eye.
Technically, you don’t have to seal the eyes at all…It is sort of a personal preference…Glass eyes and quality acrylic eyes like eyeco don’t need to be sealed at all…Some ladies use the glazes for filling cracks around the eye in the socket if an eye doesn’t sit flush because it sort of fills in the gaps - easier than trying to seat eyes that don’t fit properly, others do it because they like the look of the moisture (this can be achieved without glazing over the eye but some ladies like it over the whole eye.) others use it because they buy the bit cheaper eyes that do not have a nice natural shine without a bit of help and others use it because they use it in the place of ‘glue’ for for extra help holding lashes in place whether rooted or applied, etc…
Ultimately, I don’t tell anyone whether to use it or not…It is their choice and their own taste…I stopped using it about 6 years ago myself because when I was getting other ladies work and having to fix theirs, I thought that I would not like to know that other ladies might be getting mine and having to repair them…Not everyone has a high standard of ethics in this industry and sometimes if one artist is able to find something to publicly defame another artist who they are envious of, they will use anything they can find…
I saw this several times even on Ebay…It really reflected poorly on the lady instead of the original artist…She had purchased a proto artist doll and was reselling it…She took the absolute worst photos she could possible make of the doll and made sure to give all the credit to the original artist…the hair was uncombed, the doll was taking in the poorest lighting you can imagine, she was sprawled out in the most awkward position with cloth body showing and clothes unkempt etc…(at the same time the lady was running an auction of her own doll…beautifully presented though the reborning was a bit basic and I will leave it at that…) With the proto auction she was dripping sweetness about how beautiful the doll was and asking $800 for it knowing full well with the way she had presented it she would be doing well to get $300 for it…(Her intentions were very obviously not a desire to sell the doll but to defame the artist.) .She ran it time after time - left the high price and bad pics so that she could make sure to expose as many people as she could with her catty petty envy…When I saw her auction the only things that went through my mind was poor pathetic insecure woman…The doll that was the proto…even though it was terriblely presented…if you looked closely at the photos, you could tell that the doll was nice quality…only most people would have passed by without really looking. If I had been in the market at the time I would have bought it just to pull the auction down…Some people are just really hateful…Must be miserable having to live with themselves and never being able to escape…
So that is my long story as to why I have not glazed eyes for years…Still some ladies like it and I don’t judge them in what they chose to do with their own work…
I 100% agree with you…I do know that some of my ladies have tried sending the dolls back to the original artist but have been treated a bit rudely or were made to feel really bad about it so they just send to me now to save stress…They know I would never name anyone…not my style at all…lol
I think this would be really something I would like to follow to see how that works over time…keep us posted if you try it or follow the lady doing it… .
These are glass eyes and if soaked in water, this glaze id able to be peeled off so not a lot of work to clean them…I have tried the acrylic eyes in water soaks and didn’t have much luck with them…glass eyes are always easier to clean…
What I meant was that if the glaze becomes soft and sticky while soaked, that is the answer why it got sticky on the doll. Does the lady live in very humid area?
It actually did not get any more sticky or change the consistency of the glaze or cause any more cloudiness on the eye by soaking it…all the water did was it seems to make it easer to peel off which was more to do with what the eye was made of than the glaze itself…Have to still use your fingernail and ‘chisel’ it off so it is more like the water ‘loosens’ it , not dissolves it if that makes since…I have done the same with the same type of glaze problem with acrylic eyes and it did not budge it or change it or make it any easier than when it was dry so I think it has more to do with what the eye is made of as to how easy it is to remove…If I were to give an opinion that has no bases in fact as far as I know, I would say that I would think heat would be more of a factor in effecting the glazes than moisture or maybe a mixture of heat and moisture like being in a very hot, humid environment…Truly I don’t know what causes it…
This is an interesting and alarming post! when I started out…13 yrs ago…I used Delta Ceramcoat to seal eyes. I had a couple go cloudy over time…not sure why. I tried some of the glue sealants…like Aleene’s paper glaze and such and ruined too many eyes with that stuff just trying to get it on the eyes! A fellow Artists recommended Future Floor finish…now called Pledge Floor finish. It is clear acrylic and you can strip it with alcohol or ammonia. It is thin so it floats on and levels itself without leaving streaks…I was told that people that make their own clay beads use it to seal and finish their beads to make them glossy. I have not have any trouble during application or over time. I like to seal the eyes for two reasons…to add shine and depth to the eye…since eyes are moist…I like that look. I take it a bit onto the inner rim of the lid and corners…it also adds extra sealant for the lashes. This is just my opinion…again…I have been using this product for about 12 years. Everytime I use something else…I go back to the floor finish!
another tip for removing some of those sealants off acrylic eyes is Windsor Newton brush cleaner…it will often take most any of the glue sealants off without damaging the eyes…I have been fairly lucky with it even removing super glue! I cannot imagine epoxy! I use it to glue magnets onto pacifiers and you have to work fast…and it is forever!!! it can also start setting up before you are ready and then you have ruined eyes! some of them can go amber after a few years…I would not try that on eyes. Hope this helps!
Janan, thank you for commenting on this. I did not realize that you had experienced issues with the Delta as well. I am one who does prefer the look and added sealing on eyelashes of a glossing the acrylic eyes with something. I will definitely go buy some of the floor sealer and try it now. One question, if you do have a kit that the eyes just do not fit totally flush to the socket and there is a tiny crack will the floor sealer still work on those situations?
Just wanted you to see the 3 types of problems I have seen over the years while rebroning…Don’t know the conditions as far as weather, tempts,humidity, type glaze used or any other possible contributing factor…just know that the ladies who have sent the dolls to me are collectors - so their dolls are not ‘play dolls’ and other than the eyes and re weighting and stuffing them, they are mostly in near new condition…
are close to being as scarey as Amy’s leg 
